LeBron James takes step back, and forward, to Cavaliers

LeBron James appears to have buried the hatchet with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.

LeBron James appears to have buried the hatchet with Cavaliers...

LeBron James sent shock waves through the NBA on Friday by returning to the Cavaliers, raising questions and issues on many fronts:

-- It's natural to wonder whether this arrangement is tied to the acquisition of Kevin Love, who reportedly has fervent interest and would commit to the Cavs long-term. Cleveland could offer No. 1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins and a couple of other players - perhaps Anthony Bennett and Anderson Varejao - in return.

-- What about the Warriors and Love? Would Minnesota choose a Wiggins deal over David Lee and Harrison Barnes? That's about all the Warriors are prepared to offer, as they are committed - wisely - to a Klay Thompson-Stephen Curry backcourt. Then again, if Love is locked into a Cleveland deal without recourse, it doesn't matter what other teams might offer.

-- If Love is thinking straight, there's no way he wants any part of the Western Conference. Joining LeBron gives Love a straight shot into the playoffs and quite possibly the Finals.

-- The NBA idiotically rigged its collective-bargaining agreement to prevent "super-teams" from assembling in the future. LeBron, Love and Kyrie Irving definitely would qualify - and, as usual, a star-laden team would be excellent for the league. It's the very essence of its tradition and success.

-- Just a few weeks ago, David Blatt was an internationally renowned coach in Europe (and sought by the Warriors to be a member of Steve Kerr's staff). Now his first NBA job has him coaching James. "Thrilled? That's the understatement of the millennium," Blatt told Yahoo Sports.

-- Forgiveness was in the air in Cleveland. Owner Dan Gilbert reportedly apologized to LeBron for writing such a savagely juvenile letter in response to James' departure to Miami, and LeBron told Gilbert he regretted making a spectacle of "The Decision." You imagine the two of them opening a hotel called Bygones.

-- Jeremy Lin has to welcome being traded to the Lakers, whether they can sign Carmelo Anthony or not. And that probably means the end for Steve Nash in L.A. Pau Gasol, who reportedly has turned down a two-year deal, is probably gone, as well.

-- Pat Riley didn't take this lying down. The Miami president persuaded Chris Bosh to stay (the Rockets thought they had him) and will probably lock up Dwyane Wade, as well.

All-Star error

Just one major quibble with the All-Star picks: Pittsburgh's Josh Harrison, a utility player and projected as such, instead of the Reds' electrifying Billy Hamilton, who is the league's most dynamic baserunner and is really learning how to hit (.280). This is such a bad mistake by NL manager Mike Matheny, it's difficult to comprehend ... While critics ridiculed the vote for Derek Jeter as the American League shortstop, he's been a solid hitter since mid-June (currently .273) and totally deserves to be the leadoff man. Imagine getting a hit in 1,000 separate games. Thursday night, Jeter made it 1,000 multi-hit games ... Umpire of the week: Mike Muchlinski, working the plate for Reds-Pirates on Monday. Russell Martin stepped into the box wearing a full set of plastic elbow armor and casually leaned into a curveball, causing part of his cheater's ensemble to fall off. Hit by pitch? Nope. Muchlinski ordered him to get back in the box. Next step: Ban that garbage for good. We saw more than enough of it with Barry Bonds ... If you've noticed how Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton are performing for the Angels, you know Billy Beane was dead serious when he said the Jeff Samardzija-Jason Hammel trade was about winning the division. Let the World Series fanfare come later, if at all ... How far the A's rotation has come: In their breakthrough season of 2012, rookie pitchers started the last 14 games of the regular season and 76 of the final 104. The A's also became the first team to start three rookies in the postseason (Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone and A.J. Griffin) ... Just hilarious: If Bay Area fans subscribe to the MLB package, they can watch the Dodgers' SportsNet telecasts (and hear Vin Scully) at will. Down in L.A., 70 percent of the fans are blacked out ... Thank you, Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News: "Wouldn't it be great if people stopped caring about Johnny Manziel until he completes an NFL pass?"

The other side of Clint Dempsey: So rugged and poker-faced on the field, he appeared on the David Letterman show this week with an endearing smile and old-style Southern respect, often addressing Letterman as "sir." If you want to see Major League Soccer at its best, check Dempsey's return to the Sounders' lineup in Seattle against Portland (7 p.m. Sunday, ESPN2), with a crowd of some 67,000 expected ... Serena Williams withdrew from next week's Swedish Open, citing her ongoing recovery from the viral illness (the official explanation so far) that caused her bizarre withdrawal from the Wimbledon doubles. There's no guarantee she'll honor her commitment to Stanford's Bank of the West tournament (July 28-Aug. 3), but that field stands on its own with Victoria Azarenka, Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Venus Williams, Angelique Kerber, Ana Ivanovic, Samantha Stosur, Andrea Petkovic, Sara Errani and defending tournament champ Dominika Cibulkova - truly a world-class group ... Just for fun, during a neighborhood party centered on the World Cup, our host called up the Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. What a shocking testament to nausea, possibly the worst show in the history of television. Adults, kids, dogs - this disgusting display totally cleared the room. Don't ever show it again on any station, in any century.